HATFIELD — In front of a backdrop of machinery and K’NEX toys inside the Rodon Group’s Hatfield factory on Friday afternoon, President Obama made his case for extending middle-class tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year, warning that businesses such as the Rodon Group — and millions of Americans — will take a big hit if Congress fails to agree soon on a fiscal plan.

“Economists have said if income taxes go up on the middle class, people will spend nearly $200 billion less in stores and online,” said Obama, explaining that if Congress does not act, taxes on a typical middle-class family of four will go up by about $2,200 in 2013. “That’s money a lot of families can’t afford to lose. That’s less money to buy gas, less money to buy groceries. It means less money to buy more K’NEX.”

Speaking in front of about 300 Rodon Group employees, guests, and elected officials including U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah and Allyson Schwartz, Obama appealed to those in the room, and all Americans, to put pressure on Congress to extend the tax cuts by making phone calls, sending e-mails, and tweeting their representatives with the hashtag #My2K. “That’s the 2K from your pocket,” he said.

“It’s not acceptable to me, and I don’t think it’s acceptable to you, for just a handful of Republicans in Congress to hold the middle-class tax cuts hostage simply because they don’t want tax rates on upper income folks to go up,” he said to huge applause. “If Congress does nothing, everybody here, you’ll see your taxes go up on January 1st. I’m assuming that doesn’t sound too good to you. That’s sorta like the lump of coal you get for Christmas.”

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The president said he picked the K’NEX factory to make his case to the American public because the company had made a point of creating jobs for American workers. “This is one of the few companies in the toy industries that has aggressively moved jobs back here,” said Obama. “I want to reward manufacturers like this one that create jobs here in the United States, not overseas,” he said, adding that in addition to 98 percent of Americans, Ninety-seven percent of small businesses in the U.S. would also benefit from an extension of the middle-class tax cuts.

The president’s message resonated with Rick Conti, 59, who works in Rodon’s shipping department. “I agreed with everything he said, and I think his program sounds good, you just gotta convince the wealthy,” said Conti. “I liked what he said about the working people. He’s concerned about our jobs, making sure we have security. After all, we all worry about the same thing — our kids and our families.”

“It’s a really incredible thing that he cares enough to come here and see the blue-collar working guy,” Conti added.

Rodon technical manager Jack McPherson hoped the president was sincere about his desire to work in a bipartisan manner to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” looming at the end of the year. “I know he has an agenda that’s pure Democrat, and I know the Republicans have an agenda, too, but I’d like to see them come together and solve this problem before we have such a poor reputation around the globe that no one will want to do any business with America at all,” said McPherson.

Although Obama’s fiscal points were serious, he couched many of his points in humor befitting the setting of a toy company. “I’ve been keeping my own naughty and nice list for Washington, so you should keep your eye on who gets some K’NEX this year — there’ll be some members of Congress who get ‘em and some who don’t,” he joked.

Looking around the room at K’NEX toys, he added, “Joe Biden was at Costco, he wanted to buy some of this stuff but I told him he had too much work to do. I wasn’t gonna have him building roller coasters all day long.”

Prior to his speech, Obama was given a tour of the factory by Rodon/K’NEX CEO Michael Araten and Joel and Bob Glickman, the sons of Rodon Group founder Irving Glickman, who died Nov. 19 at age 101.

Addressing the crowd before Obama’s arrival, Araten said, “I have been asked often this week, why were we chosen by President Obama for a visit? We build the worlds kids love, right here in the USA.”

“We are a third-generation American family business. We are the American story.”